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BlogPoll Ballot Week 10

Happy Halloween, y'all. College football has passed the halfway point and things continue to get incredibly interesting. The forthcoming Week 10 should have plenty of intrigue as Alabama and LSU play each other in a one-loss team BCS elimination game, Boise State faces their toughest test since Oregon State playing host to a surprising Hawaii group, and oh yeah, you may have heard about a certain little TCU-Utah affair. We did our best to determine who belongs where; you know the drill, if we got drunk on miniature chocolate bars, don't hesitate to call us on it.

1

Went to the Coliseum and took on a game USC side, but escaped looking every bit the prized pig. 53-32. Oregon, who a year ago at this time was somewhere in the 40's in total offense, is firmly established at the top of the tables these days. Next up: Washington, 3:30.

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2

Cam Newton was Cam Newton and Auburn's offense outclassed an inferrior Ole Miss team 51-31. The biggest test for Auburn going forward (other than Alabama) will probably their own ability to stay focused one week at a time. Next up: Tennessee-Chattanooga, 1:00.

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3

Got off to a sluggish start against Louisiana Tech but eventually got into a rhythm and ultimately left a rare Tuesday evening affair with a 49-20 victory. Kellen Moore continues to look like he's headed for a seat in NYC the second weekend in December. Next up: #25 Hawaii, 3:30.

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4

Went into Vegas and housed UNLV 48-6. Andy Dalton continues to be a ticking time bomb out of the quarterback position but the defense is Halloween scary good. Next up: at #5 Utah, 3:30.

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5

Faced their toughest task to date against the nation's best rushing team Air Force before pulling it out late and winning, 28-23. Utah's next will be a referendum on their entire season. Next up: #4 TCU, 3:30.

2

6

Bye Week. Next up: at #15 LSU, 3:30.

2

7

Went into Seattle and absolutely lambasted formerly highly thought of Washington (by fools like yours truly), 41-0. Andrew Luck continues to play his way into the Davey O'Brien/#1 overall draft pick mix. Next up: #12 Arizona, TBA.

2

8

Bye Week. Next up: at Purdue, 12:00.

2

9

Terrelle Pryor had arguably his most impressive day passing against a flesh-and-blood D to date (one atrocious brain fart aside) and Boom Herron looks to be maturing into quite the feature back. If the defense can get healthy, Ohio State can play with anyone. Next up: Bye Week.

2

10

A week after shooting themselves repeatedly in the foot against Missouri, OU bounced back (and how) beating down hapless Dan Hawkins and the Buffaloes 43-10. Landry Jones and DeMarco Murray should keep OU in the mix though they still have Baylor, Oklahoma State, and Nebraska (potentially) on the horizon. Next up: at Texas A&M, 7:00.

2

11

Played more like the Nebraska team we saw last week against Missouri then 2 weeks prior against Texas in defeating Missouri and claiming the inside track to the Big XII North's spot in the league's final championship game, winning 31-17. Taylor Martinez' ankle/thigh/foot injury will be something to keep an eye on. Next up: at Iowa State, 3:30.

2

12

Ran into a trap game but escaped Pistol Rick and co. with a W, 29-21. They won't have long to make corrections with their toughest task since their victory over Iowa looming. Next up: at #7 Stanford, TBA.

2

13

Got off to a glacial crawl, rallied, but didn't have quite enough to rally back against #11 Nebraska falling 17-31. Blaine Gabbert had it rough all afternoon from a vicious, attacking blackshirt D. Next up: at Texas Tech, 7:00.

7

14

Okie State bounced back from a disappointment against Big 12 north leader Nebraska and outlasted and outclassed Kansas State 24-14. Kendall Hunter was his usual brilliant self gaining 149 yards on 28 carries. Next up: #21 Baylor, 12:30.

3

15

Bye Week. Next up: #6 Alabama, 3:30.

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16

Laid an absolute egg in Iowa City and ending their improbable BCS Championship Game aspirations. Kirk Cousins on down, everyone on the Spartans roster was pretty terrible. Next up: Minnesota, 12:00.

11

17

Played host to (then) fifth ranked Michigan State and absolutely took it to them 37-6. Ricky Stanzi continued a brilliant 2K10 in the winning effort. Next up: at Indiana, 12:00.

1

18

Got off to a slow start but ultimately began to cook with gas against Vanderbilt and ultimately won 49-14. A potentially huge loss for the Razorbacks is receiver Greg Childs who went down hard late and is questionable for next week's game. Next up: @ #19 South Carolina, 7:00.

1

19

Played host to a young (but awful) Tennessee team, teased them for 3 quarters, then mercilessly pulled away winning 38-24. Huge test game looms next week with #18 Arkansas. Next up: Arkansas, 7:00.

1

20

Bye Week. Next up: Thursday, @ Georgia Tech, 7:30.

3

21

Went into Austin and made up for 12 years of hard times by taking down the hated Texas Longhorns 30-22. Talented QB Robert Griffin III did most of his damage through the air as opposed to his usual weapon of choice. Next up: at #14 Oklahoma State, 12:30.

4

22

Made amends for their late woes a season prior by capitalizing on a few choice FSU mistakes in defeating the Seminoles 28-24. Russell Wilson continued a fine 2010 in leading the winning effort. Next up: at Clemson, 12:00.

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23

Went into Raleign on a Thursday night but fumbled away their shot at victory falling to NC State 24-28. Ty Jones paced the 'Noles with 108 rushing yards on 10 carries. Next up: North Carolina, TBA.

7

24

Took on a plucky Utah State Aggies side and emerged victorious in a shootout 56-42. Could ultimately clash with Boise State in a defacto WAC championship in late November. Next up: at Idaho, 5:00.

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25

Haven't seen the likes of these guys around since the Colt Brennan-era was in full effect. None the less, they keep handling business in a suddenly Mountain West comparable (if not superior) WAC. Beat an '09 bowl team in Idaho 45-10 on the island. Next up: at #3 Boise State, 2:00.

How am I being ridiculous? It's a single game in a tapestry of results we use to evaluate an entire season's body of work. Michigan State's 10-point victory, while less "style point rich", was statistically every bit as dominant. They out gained the very same team that beat Iowa and soundly beat Ohio State by over 150 total yards and were in control for almost all 60 minutes. We can't pretend that didn't happen just because the most recent taste in our mouths is more pronounced.

It's also a single, one off event. Sure, if Michigan State has another ugly loss we can safely say Iowa is a superior team that merits being acknowledged as such, but aside from one game, one Saturday, there's no way to say that with 100% certainty without being myopic or unfair. Next you're going to tell me 2006 Florida would've beaten 2006 Ohio State 9/10 times because of the results of one contest. Teams lay eggs all the time that aren't necessarily indicative of relative strength and especially are not transitive across an entire body of work.

I don't really care for your musical taste, but your rankings are pretty legit. I would put MS State above Hawaii and Nevada, and even though Iowa has two losses, they only have one in conference, so I would switch Mich. State and Iowa. Only in the BCS can a team that is idle (LSU) jump a team that wins 52-10.

At this point I don't much care about our BCS ranking, so long as we remain BCS at-large eligible. Assuming we win out, we finish at 11-1. Barring Michigan miraculously developing a defense between now and the Wisky game, Wisky will win out as well. Wsiky will remain ahead of us in the BCS rankings, especially now that Miami has shit the bed and ruined our non-conference strength of schedule.

The thing is, I might prefer that Wisky stay ranked ahead of us. We would both get a share of the Big 10 title, and, like PSU in 2008, Wisky would forever bitch about how they should not have had to share the title with OSU. More importantly, Wisky will go to the Rose Bowl. I'm not sure that's the most exciting place to be this year. The Big 10's Rose Bowl participantl will likely face either Oregon (if they lose a game) or Boise/TCU if Oregon goes to the national title game. Would you want a rematch with Oregon? With our weakened defense, I see Oregon beating us this year. Or would you want to play Boise/TCU? That's a game we'll be expected to win and lambasted if we lose. I want no part of any game versus a non-AQ. All downside.

That would leave us with either a Fiesta Bowl or (less likely) the Sugar Bowl. I could see us playing Nebraska in the Fiesta (a nice storyline for the NU segue into the Big 10) or the loser of the Auburn/Bama game in the Sugar Bowl. Both options would be marquee games and I'd prefer them over a rehash of the Rose Bowl.

I like the BCS. Head to head doesn't always tell the tale, especially in college football where one team has the game circled, blows their wad, and is flat the next week. MSU belongs ahead of and is better than Iowa. They didn't show it on one day. Go watch the replay of MSU and Wisconsin, including the final drive to seal it. The BCS is (was) designed to reward a body of work over the season. What I don't like now is that 2/3 the score is your weekly popularity. As though that matters in a playoff. Just ask the Chargers if you think it does.

My ESPN fan poll looks drastically different than the AP or BCS. Go ahead and line up Utah with OSU. I F-ing dare them. I also do not have Boise or TCU in the top 15. I had Alabama, Ohio State, Oregon, until the Oregon kicked Stanford right out of the stadium. Alabama has too many new players, and OSU has too many injuries. Other than that, the Oregon leapfrom from 3 to 1 is my only change, and that was a few weeks ago. I also noticed LSU leap frogged OSU by not playing, courtesy of the wheels coming of the wagon in Miami.